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Improving Amplifier Noise For High 3rd Intercept Amplifiers
1/20/2012
Wide spurious-free dynamic range is certainly the goal for any IF amplifier. This is particularly true for OTH (Over the Horizon) radar as well as other systems using high resolution
digitizers. Recently introduced current feedback amplifiers offer exceptional 3rd order intermodulation intercepts at very
low quiescent power levels, but have been plagued by relatively
poor noise figures. By Texas Instruments
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Getting In Tune With The Future: Capacitors And Tunable Technologies
11/28/2011
As energy storage devices, capacitors are handy to have in electronics, from advanced, razor-thin, lighting-fast tablets to your standard kitchen microwave oven. Used as the tunable components in variable matching devices (VMDs), capacitors bring even more functionality to electronics, and in particular products that rely on RF signals, such as cell phones.
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An Efficient PA for Multiple Wireless Standards Applications
11/9/2011
RF power amplifiers are the key components in wireless communication systems. Strict performance requirements for output power and linearity must be met so that the wireless system complies with regulations. In addition, different systems have their own design requirements for different applications, such as power-added efficiency (PAE), DC supply voltage, ruggedness, physical size, reliability, and cost.
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RFSA2013 and RFSA2023 Broadband High Performance Voltage-Controlled Attenuators
11/9/2011
PIN diode-based RF attenuators have been the preferred method in the past to achieve voltage-variable RF gain, but they are often troublesome to design and require a large number of associated components. Common struggles with this topology include achieving wideband frequency response due to the parasitics of the diodes, selection of appropriate resistors to match the diode attenuation versus current curve, sizable PCB land area necessary to accommodate the peripheral components, large control voltage swing, and maintaining linearity over the full attenuation range.
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Wideband GaN Power Amplifiers For Software-Defined Radios
11/9/2011
Software-Defined Radio (SDR) architectures are playing an increasingly important role in emerging radio configurations with requirements for supporting multiband and multistandard
operation. They will be reconfigurable by software which allows improved spectral efficiency and faster deployment
of new standards.
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RFMD® Front End Modules
11/9/2011
Consumers of portable electronic devices are demanding longer battery life, longer connectivity range, and simultaneous operation of multiple functions. The need to multitask is rapidly becoming one of the favorite features of portable devices such as smartphones (mobile WLAN-enabled handsets), Portable Media Players (PMPs), Media Interface Devices (MIDs), portable gaming consoles, and battery-operated low-power netbooks.
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5 Steps To Selecting The Right RF Power Amplifier
11/2/2011
You need an RF power amplifier. You have measured the power of your signal and it is not enough. You may even have decided on a power level in Watts that you think will meet your needs. Are you ready to shop for an amplifier of that wattage? With so many variations in price, size, and efficiency for amplifiers that are all rated at the same number of Watts many RF amplifier purchasers are unhappy with their selection.
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Coaxial Cables And Connectors: The Basics
10/26/2011
Coaxial cables are a lot like a fuel tank without a fuel gauge. Not much appears wrong until something goes wrong. Also, escaping RF energy makes no noise, no sound and leaves no puddles. In the absence of easy reliable verification and replacement, or repair, a reliable cable becomes important to continued system performance.
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Market Trends For Low Cost High Performance VCO Solutions
9/30/2011
The need for a miniaturized configurable wideband
voltage-controlled oscillator (VCO) solution has been a dream for decades. With ever-increasing demands for high-speed
data communications at rates in excess of 2 Gb/s, the phase-noise performance of the miniaturized tunable VCO
becomes critical in achieving acceptable system bit-error-rate (BER) performance.
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Using Pre-Filter LNA Modules To Improve Receiver Sensitivity During Simultaneous GPS Operation
9/28/2011
Cellular phones are getting more complex with each new generation, integrating multiple radios such as WiFi, Bluetooth and GPS. With the increasing number of wireless signals present, designers must leverage strong filtering technology to avoid interference in handset designs. This is especially true for GPS functionality. By ChewEan Tan and Allen Wong, Avago Technologies